Post by Lester on Jul 20, 2004 7:29:30 GMT -8
Wok N Roll serving its last sushi
By Andrew Blazier Staff Writer
PASADENA -- When long- standing sushi bar Wok N Roll serves up its last meal tonight, there likely won't be another any time soon.
After 10 years at 55 E. Colorado Blvd. in Old Pasadena, owner Jack Huang will close the restaurant for good at 10 p.m., but it won't be for lack of business. "The business is strong after 10 years, but we don't own the building,' Huang said Monday, on the eve of the eatery's finale.
The restaurant's landlord, the Daniel Mellinkoff Trust, informed Huang in December it would not renew the Wok N Roll's lease, so that it could repair damage from a November building fire.
That left Huang looking for another space, preferably still along the busy Old Pasadena section of Colorado, the city's most lucrative retail district. But when Huang faced potential asking rents of $4 to $4.50 per square foot, he elected to shut the store down instead of relocate.
Commercial retail and office rents have risen steadily in Pasadena in the last few years, as new developments such as upscale outdoor mall Paseo Colorado and The Shops on South Lake raised business owners' interest in the area. Rising demand led increased property values, which in turn led to rent hikes.
"Pasadena's on the map now, so to speak,' said Colleen Carey, vice president at NAI Capital Commercial. "The national credit tenants have found it, so everything kind of follows.
The arrival of large corporate names such as Banana Republic, The Cheesecake Factory and Pottery Barn has allowed landlords to charge premium rents - as much as $6 per square foot near the high-rent intersection of DeLacey Avenue and Colorado, Carey said.
"They are asking for a lot more money now, just because of demand and supply,' Huang said. "We're more than happy to pay the market rate - no more and no less.'
The news is not all bad for Huang or his employees, though. Most of Wok N Roll's 20 to 30 workers will be transferred to Huang's two other restaurants, Spanish tapas bar Barcelona, at 46 E. Colorado Blvd., and Italian steak and seafood house Villa Sorriso, at 168 W. Colorado Blvd. Huang and his wife, Karen Tanji Huang, recently signed 20-year leases at both locations.
Huang would not rule out a future return of Wok N Roll, but he was hesitant to make any promises.
"I don't want to commit to something,' he said. "If it's meant to be, we'll be back.'
Andrew Blazier can be reached at (626) 962-8811, Ext. 2477, or by e-mail at andrew.blazier@sgvn.com .
www.sgvtribune.com/Stories/0,1413,205~23283~2282175,00.html
By Andrew Blazier Staff Writer
PASADENA -- When long- standing sushi bar Wok N Roll serves up its last meal tonight, there likely won't be another any time soon.
After 10 years at 55 E. Colorado Blvd. in Old Pasadena, owner Jack Huang will close the restaurant for good at 10 p.m., but it won't be for lack of business. "The business is strong after 10 years, but we don't own the building,' Huang said Monday, on the eve of the eatery's finale.
The restaurant's landlord, the Daniel Mellinkoff Trust, informed Huang in December it would not renew the Wok N Roll's lease, so that it could repair damage from a November building fire.
That left Huang looking for another space, preferably still along the busy Old Pasadena section of Colorado, the city's most lucrative retail district. But when Huang faced potential asking rents of $4 to $4.50 per square foot, he elected to shut the store down instead of relocate.
Commercial retail and office rents have risen steadily in Pasadena in the last few years, as new developments such as upscale outdoor mall Paseo Colorado and The Shops on South Lake raised business owners' interest in the area. Rising demand led increased property values, which in turn led to rent hikes.
"Pasadena's on the map now, so to speak,' said Colleen Carey, vice president at NAI Capital Commercial. "The national credit tenants have found it, so everything kind of follows.
The arrival of large corporate names such as Banana Republic, The Cheesecake Factory and Pottery Barn has allowed landlords to charge premium rents - as much as $6 per square foot near the high-rent intersection of DeLacey Avenue and Colorado, Carey said.
"They are asking for a lot more money now, just because of demand and supply,' Huang said. "We're more than happy to pay the market rate - no more and no less.'
The news is not all bad for Huang or his employees, though. Most of Wok N Roll's 20 to 30 workers will be transferred to Huang's two other restaurants, Spanish tapas bar Barcelona, at 46 E. Colorado Blvd., and Italian steak and seafood house Villa Sorriso, at 168 W. Colorado Blvd. Huang and his wife, Karen Tanji Huang, recently signed 20-year leases at both locations.
Huang would not rule out a future return of Wok N Roll, but he was hesitant to make any promises.
"I don't want to commit to something,' he said. "If it's meant to be, we'll be back.'
Andrew Blazier can be reached at (626) 962-8811, Ext. 2477, or by e-mail at andrew.blazier@sgvn.com .
www.sgvtribune.com/Stories/0,1413,205~23283~2282175,00.html